Ohio State's Barton named to All-American team

Friday

Kirk Barton has a message for disappointed high school football players. Don’t worry about not making postseason all-county teams. There may be something more satisfying in a few years.

Kirk Barton has a message for disappointed high school football players. Don’t worry about not making postseason all-county teams. There may be something more satisfying in a few years.

Such as an All-America team.

Barton was named to the American Football Coaches Association’s All-American team, announced Thursday. The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder did not make any Stark County publications postseason teams his senior year at Perry High School and was not voted onto the coaches all-county team.

“I made one all-county team, and that paper only put me on it after I committed to Ohio State,” Barton said. “I probably wouldn’t have made that one, either. Tell the kids who didn’t make it this year it’s a little like Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team.”

Barton shared the award with his grandmother, Betty Gliba, who celebrated her birthday Thursday.

Grandma Gliba doesn’t get the buckeye tree, however. Ohio State All-Americans get a buckeye tree planted in their name in the school’s Buckeye Grove.

“That tree is there forever, so it’s kind of cool,” Barton said. “I’ve walked through there before. You see when you’re being recruited. As a freshman and sophomore, I had to walk through it every time I went to pick up my Pell Grant check.

“It’s cool because this year I didn’t care about individual honors. All I wanted was a championship. I could give a crap about the individual stuff, but it’s definitely an honor, and it has a lot to do with my teammates.”

Barton and linebacker James Laurinaits were the only two Ohio State players to make the AFCA All-American team. Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree became the first freshman since Herschel Walker to be named.

“I don’t know when the other All-American teams come out, and I don’t care,” Barton said. “This is the most prestigious one, because the coaches vote on it, and I think they may know more about the players than certain other associations.”

Barton plans to gather with his teammates Saturday night at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to watch the Big 12 Championship Game between No. 1 Missouri and No. 9 Oklahoma. No. 2 West Virginia also plays rival Pittsburgh on Saturday. the Tigers or Mountaineers fall, the No. 3 Buckeyes will slide into one of the top two spots and head to the BCS championship game in Phoenix. Otherwise, OSU will head to the Rose Bowl and play, most likely, USC.

“I’m not watching football all day,” Barton said. “I’ve got two term papers due for 500-level history classes. To be honest with you, I’m more concerned with getting those done ... because I’m about to graduate in a week or so.”